Which returned more over the last year, USO or VGSH?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and VGSH +1.7%.

Which is cheaper, USO or VGSH?

VGSH is cheaper, by 0.83 percentage points a year. That is about $83 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

USO vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees

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USO is a commodity futures fund and VGSH a bond index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% against +1.7%.

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Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP, and $35.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF.

USO on its own →VGSH on its own →

At a glance

+133.3%

USO total return, 1 year

+1.7%

VGSH total return, 1 year

0.86%

USO expense ratio

0.03%

VGSH expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VGSH costs 0.83 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 131.6 points.

USO vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	USO	VGSH
Return
Measure	USO	VGSH
Total return, 1 year	+133.3%	+1.7%
Drawdown
Measure	USO	VGSH
Below its high	82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008
Benchmark
Measure	USO	VGSH
What it tracks	Oil futures	Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index
Cost and size
Measure	USO	VGSH
Expense ratio	0.86%	0.03%
Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VGSH as of Sep 30, 2026	$1.9bn	$35.1bn
Holdings
Measure	USO	VGSH
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

USO United States Oil Fund, LP VGSH Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Bond ETF

Issuer USCF Vanguard

What it is Holds oil futures Tracks an index of Short-Term Treasury

Total return, 1 year +133.3% +1.7%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +1.8% (SCHO)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs SCHO

Expense ratio 0.86% 0.03%

Holdings not counted 93

Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VGSH as of Sep 30, 2026 $1.9bn $35.1bn

USO and VGSH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

USO

USO holds oil futures. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +133.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 82.3% below its high of Jul 14, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.

VGSH

VGSH tracks an index of Short-Term Treasury. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against +1.8% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USO or VGSH?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and VGSH +1.7%.
Which is cheaper, USO or VGSH?: VGSH is cheaper, by 0.83 percentage points a year. That is about $83 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SHY vs USO IEI vs USO JAAA vs USO USO vs VGIT BWET vs VGSH GLD vs VGSH SIVR vs VGSH SLV vs VGSH

Where to next

USO on its own →VGSH on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →VGSH dividend history →VGSH holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

USCF website ↗

VGSH filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VGSH prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VGSH ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, USO against VGSH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/uso-vs-vgsh

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.